Dave Roberts Provides ‘Likely’ Game 1 Starter For Dodgers
Now that the Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched the No. 1 seed in the National League, the Dodgers have to decide which pitchers will start for the team when the National League Division Series begins next Saturday on Oct. 5.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that the Dodgers have not officially decided who will start Game 1 of the series, but his current guess is Jack Flaherty will get the start, via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
Flaherty is of course not the pitcher the Dodgers would have envisioned starting for the team’s first postseason game at the start of the year. For one, Flaherty wasn’t on the team, but an acquisition at the trade deadline that has proven pivotal for the team.
The Dodgers would have likely imagined Tyler Glasnow or Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting Game 1 at the start of the year, but Glasnow is expected to be out for the postseason due to injury. Yamamoto is expected to start during the postseason, but it doesn’t sound like he will start Game 1.
Regardless of the injuries, Flaherty is still a strong option for the Dodgers. Since joining the Dodgers, Flaherty is 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA and 61 strikeouts across 10 starts. Overall on the season, Flaherty is 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA and 194 strikeouts.
Flaherty has had a slight down streak lately, allowing three earned runs or more in each of his last three starts. This is not exactly reassuring heading into the postseason, but the Dodgers should still be grateful to have Flaherty amid the injuries to Glasnow, Gavin Stone, and Clayton Kershaw.
After Game 1, Yamamoto and Walker Buehler appear as the most likely candidates to start Game 2 and Game 3. Buehler is coming off one of his best starts of the season, allowing just one earned run while helping the Dodgers clinch the NL West on Thursday. If he can come through in big moments for the Dodgers in October, they will have a much better chance at advancing to the postseason.
Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
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